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Which brand of engine oil did you choose?

18506 Views 48 Replies 23 Participants Last post by  Rodents
and what engine do you have?

I have the 2.4l and only drive about 6k miles a year, so I went with Castrol GTX @ 6 months old
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So back to the oil, giving that I have the V6 i am interested in doing it justice, so what you believe is the best time to change it, I have done almost 5 g on it, 900 being about hwy, and the oil life is at 35, what is in there now is what ever the dealer put in, bc I got it used, roughly around April. so they probably used conventional oil, bc I think they told me they did. I always thought full synthetic was best for temp ranges, as it gets cold in the winter and hot in summer here. I know my Silverado came with mobil 1, as I had a warranty card that came with it when I bought it. I just would like to do whats best for the car, and I know modern oils are more durable than the old every 3k change, which i used to do on a neon i had, bc that didnt have an oil life sensor lol.
So back to the oil, giving that I have the V6 i am interested in doing it justice, so what you believe is the best time to change it, I have done almost 5 g on it, 900 being about hwy, and the oil life is at 35, what is in there now is what ever the dealer put in, bc I got it used, roughly around April. so they probably used conventional oil, bc I think they told me they did. I always thought full synthetic was best for temp ranges, as it gets cold in the winter and hot in summer here. I know my Silverado came with mobil 1, as I had a warranty card that came with it when I bought it. I just would like to do whats best for the car, and I know modern oils are more durable than the old every 3k change, which i used to do on a neon i had, bc that didnt have an oil life sensor lol.
For some truly good guidance head over to BITOG (Bob Is The Oil Guy) and do some reading.

Short version: use full synthetic. It flows better during cold starts, which is when the majority of engine wear occurs.
Short version: use full synthetic. It flows better during cold starts, which is when the majority of engine wear occurs.
But without consulting some reference source, that's not as easy as it might seem.........because "legally" they can say it is "full synthetic" when there is NOT a drop of non-petroleum product in the bottle.

I don't think the companies that produce Group 4/5 "real" synthetic product have come up with a standard naming convention to describe it yet, maybe on purpose based on the last legal assult on the "standard" name.

I have ASSumed that the new Mobil 1 Extended Performance product is "real" synthetic again........but I'm not real sure about that even.
I use a synthetic blend 5W-30 with a service champ oil filter. I go 3-4 thousand on the interval. I'm still not stuck on the OLM yet. I've heard a lot of negative with it. And on a side note, I work at an oil change center, filters are designed to shut down and stop working around 3k miles. They get so saturated they can't do what they need to and it get's bypassed altogether. Royal Purple was actually started by a former Mobil 1 engineer, he figured he could make more money and added a purple dye to it. Back to the synthetic blend, it's a step above conventional with some synthetic additives. And to tell you the truth, all oil is the same, no matter the brand you like, they all have to meet the same standards, it's all government regulated.
And to tell you the truth, all oil is the same, no matter the brand you like, they all have to meet the same standards, it's all government regulated.
False.

They have some minimums they have to meet, but it is a proven fact some do a better job then others.
False.

They have some minimums they have to meet, but it is a proven fact some do a better job then others.
It could go both ways, right now the minimum is GF-5, yea some may have different additives, but when it comes down to it, it's the same "oil". We seem to have a lot of our guest like to use Castrol.
I use a synthetic blend 5W-30 with a service champ oil filter. I go 3-4 thousand on the interval. I'm still not stuck on the OLM yet. I've heard a lot of negative with it. And on a side note, I work at an oil change center, filters are designed to shut down and stop working around 3k miles. They get so saturated they can't do what they need to and it get's bypassed altogether. Royal Purple was actually started by a former Mobil 1 engineer, he figured he could make more money and added a purple dye to it. Back to the synthetic blend, it's a step above conventional with some synthetic additives. And to tell you the truth, all oil is the same, no matter the brand you like, they all have to meet the same standards, it's all government regulated.
False.

They have some minimums they have to meet, but it is a proven fact some do a better job then others.
It could go both ways, right now the minimum is GF-5, yea some may have different additives, but when it comes down to it, it's the same "oil". We seem to have a lot of our guest like to use Castrol.
The government says the car mfrs have to meet certain emission and economy standards. They meet them by making certain changes that sometimes require the oil to change, so they have to give it a new designation. The government doesn't set the standard on the oil, the car mfrs tell the oil companies what they need and the oil companies give it a label.

Synthetic should properly be based on Group 4 or 5 stock because it starts out from the basic building blocks of non-crude oil. But Group 3 is highly modified and refined from crude oil and should not be marketed as synthetic because it really isn't.

The additives are what change the characteristics of any oil, whether conventional, synthetic (Groups 4 or 5), blended, or Group 3 "synthetic". If an oil seller wants to put the API star burst on their product they have to pay the owner of the symbol a lot of money to do so. AMSoil doesn't have the API symbol but their oil meets or exceeds the newest standard required by GM. GM states in their manual that to stay within warranty requirements all that is needed is to use an oil that has the necessary symbol "or equivalent" (their words).

The government has nothing to do with making the oil standards.

And different oils, even those sold as pure synthetics, perform differently, so "all oil is the same" is not accurate, since all oils contain additives, and each manufacturer has their own recipe.

On another note, where do you get your info about filters being designed to shut down after 3000 miles? I've never heard that and don't buy it, but with incontrovertible evidence I can be swayed.
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I work at an oil change center, filters are designed to shut down and stop working around 3k miles.

they all have to meet the same standards, it's all government regulated.
Sorry but gotta call BS on that first statement.

The bypass is designed to operate when the filter becomes completely plugged up. The likelyhood of that happening around 3K miles on a recent model car is so small as to be insignificant. If the company you work for told you that, they are lying.

There are two organizations that set standards for oils........and neither is government controlled or regulated.
I use a synthetic blend 5W-30 with a service champ oil filter. I go 3-4 thousand on the interval. I'm still not stuck on the OLM yet. I've heard a lot of negative with it. And on a side note, I work at an oil change center, filters are designed to shut down and stop working around 3k miles. They get so saturated they can't do what they need to and it get's bypassed altogether. Royal Purple was actually started by a former Mobil 1 engineer, he figured he could make more money and added a purple dye to it. Back to the synthetic blend, it's a step above conventional with some synthetic additives. And to tell you the truth, all oil is the same, no matter the brand you like, they all have to meet the same standards, it's all government regulated.
You may mean well, but do yourself a favor and go to BITOG http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ and spend a few days there, seriously, a few days an hour or three a day would do you well. The filter mileage is a generalization at best. There are higher quality filters out there than the mainstream filters most people use. Cut apart some filters, use old ones, buy a few new ones, cut the can open carefully and you'll see not all filters are created equally. Personally, I use the NAPA Platinum filter and Pennzoil Ultra 5W30. Is it the best? Don't know, in my research this is what I settled on, other people do it their way, it's all good. The statement about all oil is the same, flat out incorrect. Starting at the the type of crude oil used, not all oil is the same. It may seem like we're jumping on you, personally, I'm not. What you said in your posts is at best your opinion and not much fact, excluding the Royal Purple, I don't know how true that is or isn't. If you go to BITOG, start at the Articles and Q&A tabs up top, very informative. While the info on that site may not be 100% gospel in every way, it is currently a very respected site by most people.
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